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We recently grabbed a quick lunch at the Applebee’s in Springfield, Ohio, meeting up with some old friends before heading over to one of our favorite places, the Heart of Ohio Antique Center. We knew we could rely on Applebee’s for good food and a nice environment to sit and chat for a bit. I decided to have an appetizer, so I ordered the Sriracha shrimp. As soon as I bit into one I knew I was going to make a copycat Applebee’s Sriracha shrimp when I got home.
Lightly battered shrimp, lightly fried, then tossed in a great Sriracha mayonnaise sauce. This is exactly as I remember except I left the Sriracha sauce on the side for dipping.
The nice thing about keeping the sauce on the side is that these copycat Applebee’s Sriracha shrimp stay nice and lightly crunchy, instead of getting a bit soggy when covered in the sauce. You can serve it whichever way you like, of course. I also used larger shrimp because… I love shrimp.
Also try my copycats of Applebee’s fantastic Buffalo wings and peppercorn and garlic shrimp and (the new defunct) Joe’s Crab Shack popcorn shrimp.
Copycat Applebee’s Sriracha Shrimp
Ingredients
For the shrimp
- Vegetable oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch plus 1 teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup club soda well chilled
- 1 pound shrimp peeled, deveined (I used 20-30 count shrimp, but you might want to use 30-40 count for an appetizer-sized dish)
For the Sriracha dipping sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Instructions
For the shrimp
- Preheat 1/2″ of oil in a Dutch oven to 350 F.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, cayenne and garlic powder.
- Whisk in the club soda until smooth.
- Add the shrimp to the batter and coat well on all sides.
- Shake off excess batter and add to hot oil.
- Fry shrimp 3 minutes, then flip and fry another 2 minutes.
- Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Serve with dipping sauce on the side.
For the Sriracha dipping sauce
- Whisk together all ingredients.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
This was horrible tastes bad nothing like the original
I’m sorry that you didn’t like them. I’m actually a big fan of them. Can you recommend some changes that would make the recipe better for you and others?
Regards,
Mike
You may not have dried the shrimp well enough before dipping in the batter. Our shrimp came out perfect, crisp and well coated. I think the sauce needs some changes, missing something but overall they were delicious!
I agree. The batter didn’t stick to the shrimp and was a giant mess and waste of money. Sauce isn’t bad but not Applebee’s by any stretch.
I make this all the time but I don;t add flour or club soda to it. I just coat the shrimp in cornstarch and fry it as is add seasonings when its done and make the chili sauce on the side. Simple